Great Big Sea song fuels upbeat cancer video

External Links

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)

A video of a woman from New York state who uses dance to help her get through cancer treatment hit the web last week and quickly went viral, with shares from Great Big Sea and its frontman Alan Doyle.

The soundtrack to the video features the band's 1997 hit When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down).

In the video, Tiffany Staropoli dances at multiple locations — in her own yard, in the car, outside the hospital and even while receiving chemotherapy treatment.

Staropoli said on her blog that she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in May.

She said the diagnosis was difficult, but she has found a way to work through the illness and keep her spirits high during treatments.

"I'm the queen of goofy dancing," Staropoli wrote on her blog, adding that she usually danced alone, and only occasionally would dance in front of others.

"Early on in this cancer saga, I needed a way to pull myself out of the 'depths of despair' … I made a deal with my husband. Every time I get down, he needs to force me to dance. And he needs to record me doing it."

She added that dancing forced her to move outside her comfort zone, because she could not control how she looked in a video, the way that she can with still photography.

"We record my dancing as much as we can. It's made this journey thus far not only bearable, but enjoyable."

Staropoli is still going through chemotherapy treatments to combat the illness.

Doyle tweeted a link to the video, and the band shared it on their Facebook page, adding they were "inspired by Tiffany Staropoli and her strength [and] honoured to be a part of it."